— Unprecedented breach sees record of private conversations, government business being sold on Internet
— Conversations reveal embarrassing exchange on finance minister, request to facilitate Maryam son-in-law
ISLAMABAD: Information about sensitive government business and private conversations between the prime minister and members of his administration has apparently been leaked and put up for sale on the dark web, in what would be one of the biggest data breaches in Pakistan’s history.
The data — mainly a collection of telephone records of Shehbaz Sharif and a former prime minister whose identity wasn’t revealed, totalling about 100 hours in length — was priced at 180 bitcoin, a digital currency, which at its Sunday afternoon trading rate translated into over $3.4 million.
Sized at 8 gigabytes, the data also includes conversations between the prime minister and “all high-profile people including those who are influential and not in power,” the description of the advertisement posted on an unidentified dark web marketplace read. Pakistan Today couldn’t independently verify the authenticity of the post.
Question : Why were all these conversations recorded in the first place? Did they know that their discussions were on tape? If so, why weren’t security protocols followed? pic.twitter.com/TmicPmMkIk
— Shoaib Taimur (@shobz) September 24, 2022
The seller, who goes by Indishell, has also released four conversations — including one between Sharif and an unidentified member of his team to discuss the potential import of machinery for a relative of the former, reported on in the press — apparently after being asked to produce evidence to support the claim.
According to an analysis by an open-source intelligence (OSINT) account, the seller has no prior history on the forum. “It looks like he created this account just to post about these leaks,” OSINT Insider tweeted.
This user has no prior history on this hacking forum. It looks like he created this account just to post about these leaks.
Two threads, 16 posts – all about this alleged data leak in the PM office. pic.twitter.com/udwTVoWY0x
— OSINT Insider (@OSINT_Insider) September 24, 2022
“Two threads, 16 posts — all about this alleged data leak in the PM Office.”
IMPORT OF MACHINERY FROM INDIA
In the first of the multiple audio conversations leaked later, a voice — said to be of Sharif — can be heard saying that Maryam Nawaz, vice president of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), has asked him to facilitate her son-in-law Raheel Munir for the import of machinery for a power plant from India. Nawaz’s daughter Mehr un-Nisa Safdar married Munir in 2015.
“If we do so, we will get a lot of flak when this matter goes to the ECC [Economic Coordination Committee] and cabinet,” the official, whose identity couldn’t be ascertained immediately, can be heard saying.
At this, the prime minister’s alleged voice says: “The son-in-law is very dear to Maryam Nawaz. Tell her very logically about this and then I will talk to her.”
The same voice also agrees with the perception that this would be bad for optics and may cause political trouble.
مستعفی ارکان سے متعلق حتمی منظوری لندن سے لیے جانے جا انکشاف، ن لیگی قیادت کی پی ٹی آئی کے مستعفی ارکان سے متعلق بھی آڈیو لیک ہوگئی#ARYNews #PMLN #PTI #audioleak pic.twitter.com/bJHVoFcoJr
— ARY NEWS (@ARYNEWSOFFICIAL) September 25, 2022
At the end of the audio clip of just over two minutes, there is a mention of former Justice Maqbool Baqir, whose name was being considered as the next head of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The official is heard conveying to the premier the “suggestion” of two media persons, asking him not to consider the former judge for the post of dirty money watchdog’s chairman, in view of their experience with former NAB chief Javed Iqbal, who was also a retired judge appointed by the previous PML-N government in 2016.
This exchange helps to put a timeline on the purported audio, as the matter of the NAB chief’s appointment was in the news around two months ago.
EMBARRASSING MIFTAH EXCHANGE
A second conversation between Sharif and Nawaz, also posted on the secret portal, revealed an embarrassing exchange on Miftah Ismail, the finance minister who is a close aide of the prime minister but has received flak from a rival group in the party for his inability to control rising inflation and dollar exchange rate.
The clip features a conversation purportedly between Nawaz and Sharif. “He [Ismail] doesn’t take responsibility […] says strange things on TV which people make fun of him for […] he doesn’t even know what he is doing,” the former says.
“He clearly cut corners,” Sharif is heard as saying. “Uncle, he doesn’t know what he is doing,” Nawaz purportedly says, as she wishes for the return of Ishaq Dar, former finance minister and Nawaz’s confidante.
“مفتاح پتا نہیں کیا کر رہا ہے، ہر جگہ سے شکایتیں آرہی ہے۔” شہباز شریف سے گلے شکوے کرتی مریم نواز کی مبینہ آڈیو لیک#ARYNews #MaryamNawaz #ShehbazSharif #MiftahIsmail #audioleak pic.twitter.com/7bAD2lua9o
— ARY NEWS (@ARYNEWSOFFICIAL) September 25, 2022
Nawaz has publicly stated she doesn’t agree with the decision to hike petrol and electricity prices, claiming she did not own such decisions, whether her party was in government or not.
The third clip allegedly concerns a conversation between the prime minister, Minister of Defence Khawaja Asif, Minister of Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar, Minister of Interior Rana Sanaullah Khan and Ministry of Economic Affairs Ayaz Sadiq about the resignations of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) MPs from the National Assembly.
مستعفی ارکان سے متعلق حتمی منظوری لندن سے لیے جانے جا انکشاف، ن لیگی قیادت کی پی ٹی آئی کے مستعفی ارکان سے متعلق بھی آڈیو لیک ہوگئی#ARYNews #PMLN #PTI #audioleak pic.twitter.com/bJHVoFcoJr
— ARY NEWS (@ARYNEWSOFFICIAL) September 25, 2022
CYBERSECURITY QUESTIONED
While the government maintained its silence on the breach on Sunday as well, PTI was in overdrive questioning the cybersecurity of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
Fawad Chaudhry, senior vice president of the party, said the way the data was offered up for sale on the dark web showed the state of the nation’s cybersecurity.
“This is a failure of our intelligence agencies, especially the Intelligence Bureau. Obviously, apart from political issues, important discussions on security and foreign issues are now in everyone’s hands,” he tweeted.
وزیر اعظم پاکستان کا آفس ڈیٹا جس طرح ڈارک ویب پر فروخت کیلئے پیش کیا گیا یہ ہمارے ہاں Cyber Security کے حالات بتاتا ہے، یہ ہماری انٹیلی جنس ایجنسیز خصوصاً IB کی بہت بڑی ناکامی ہے ظاہر ہے سیاسی معاملات کے علاوہ سیکیورٹی اور خارجہ موضوعات پر بھی اہم گفتگو اب سب کے ہاتھ میں ہے
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) September 25, 2022
Shireen Mazari, former rights minister and PTI MP, said one of the conversations showed the laying down of groundwork for Dar’s return.
“The leaked audios certainly reveal the influence of convict Nawaz Sharif and his convict-on-bail daughter in the running of this imported government itself a cabal of crooks,” she said.
Laying the ground for absconder Dar’s return. The leaked audios certainly reveal the influence of convict Nawaz Sharif & his convict-on-bail daughter in the running of this Imported govt itself a cabal of crooks. https://t.co/aZr75Ealkp
— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) September 25, 2022
“This audio leak issue is so much bigger than it seems. Just imagine if hostile countries are bidding on it,” Jibran Ilyas, a member of the party’s social media team, said in a series of tweets.
This #audioleak issue is so much bigger than what it seems. Just imagine if hostile countries are bidding on it. I can’t imagine anything other than IK & abusing system being discussed in imported regime’s tenure but there has to be critical discussions under IK’s tenure there
— Jibran Ilyas (@agentjay2009) September 25, 2022
Questioning the government’s inaction on the matter, journalist Mubashir Zaidi noted that “if such sensitive conversations were leaked in any other country, the heads of their intelligence agencies would have resigned by now”.
وزیر اعظم اور مریم نواز کو ان آڈیو لیکس پر اپنا رد عمل دینا چاہئے۔ کسی دوسرے ملک میں ایسی لیکس آتیں تو ابھی تک انٹیلیجنس اداروں کے سربراہان مستعفی ہو چکے ہوتے
— Mubashir Zaidi (@Xadeejournalist) September 25, 2022
